Bat-Bogeys in the Bathroom
by Kinsie
Summary: Ginny did not expect to find the prefects' bath occupied when she went in search of a relaxing soak after curfew.


**Author's Note:** Hello all! This is just a little snippet for the first round of the Hospital Wing Challenge for Hogwarts Houses Challenges Forum.

 **Disclaimer:** Everything but the plot belongs to the great and powerful J.K Rowling.

The week had been utterly disastrous and Ginny was determined to start fresh with the use of the prefects' bath. Between the still healing wound she had received from the venomous tentacula and the dismal marks she had received on her arithmancy essay, Ginny was in dire need of some relaxation. She would normally have gone out to the pitch to burn off some excess energy, but the Ravenclaw and Slytherin teams had been monopolizing the field to prepare for their upcoming match.

Ginny waited for curfew to roll around before heading off to the fifth floor as she had no desire to run into anyone else in the bath. She only had two floors to traverse and was fairly certain that she could bluff her way past Filch if she happened to come across him or Mrs. Norris. With the exception of one close call and the use of a handy darkened alcove, the trip was uneventful. She whispered the password before slipping silently through the doorway and easing the door shut behind her.

Upon entering the bathroom, she flicked her wand toward the wireless in the corner and was gratified to hear her favorite new song by the Weird Sisters. It was a tune that you could not help but dance to and Ginny loved music. She let her hair down from the bun at the top of her head before beginning to undress. Unbeknownst to her, the girl had an audience who was keeping quiet behind a pile of bubbles. At first, he assumed she would notice him there and awkwardly scuttle away after he teased her a bit. Now however, he was quite entranced by the scene before him. The youngest Weasley had her eyes closed and a faint smile on her lips as she made her way to the tub. Her slippers were the first thing to go as she passed the row of sinks and was shortly followed by her light dressing gown which she slid off her shoulders with a shimmy. She was dressed in short sleeping shorts and a camisole that showed off her midriff.

Draco took in everything that normal school robes hid from view. Her quidditch toned muscles were evident as she danced around the bathroom and from his position below her, Draco could not help but admire how much longer her legs appeared in shorts. Then, just as he thought she would open her eyes and spot him, Ginny started sliding her shirt up over her head. A green and cream colored bra came into view and Draco knew he had to stop her before she let any other clothes drop to the floor.

"Weasley, as much as I enjoy the show, I suggest you desist from throwing yourself at me. Unless of course you are planning on taking up a profession with a pole, in which case I'm sure I have a galleon around here somewhere," he said making the girl jump and her eyes fly open.

Ginny could not believe what had happened. All she wanted was to take a bath and she wound up stripping in front of the slime of Slytherin himself. She shuddered trying to pull her camisole over her head only to snag her long hair on one of the straps. Ginny scrambled to grab her robe and slippers before making for the exit. Unfortunately, Malfoy had made it to the door first with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

"You've had your fun, now let me out of here," she said. Ginny was both infuriated and embarrassed beyond measure that she had made a fool of herself. She was never going to live this down.

"Now, now Weaslette, you only just arrived," he said with a smirk.

"Malfoy, I'm warning you. Move or I will move you," Ginny said, her eyes sparking.

"And how pray tell are you going to do that?" he drawled.

"Easy," Ginny said before whipping out her wand and casting a bat-bogey hex. With the bats distracting him, she would be able to slip out the door easily. Sadly, nothing could be easy for her this week and Malfoy was ready for her attack. Before Ginny knew what was happening, she was the one being hexed and could barely contain her disgust at the bats flying out of her poor nose. The winged creatures were flying from her nostrils to other parts of her body, covering her in a gross goo.

Ginny thought she was disoriented because of the movement all around her, but when they had all dissipated, she was still swaying a bit and the room was spinning like mad. She knew there was a bench somewhere behind her and stumbled toward it, but nearly succeeded in knocking herself into the still full bath tub. Her arm was throbbing like mad and she could not quite see properly any more.

"Weasley?" Draco sped toward the wavering girl and caught her just as she collapsed. He charmed his clothes back into place and scourgified both of them for good measure before picking her up and making his way to the infirmary.

"Madam Pomfrey?" Draco called upon entering the hospital wing.

The matron of the wing rounded the corner and took in the scene before her with raised eyebrows and rushed to the unconscious young woman.

"Mr. Malfoy, I need you tell me exactly what happened," she said before pulling the curtains open on the closest bed for the girl to be laid out on.

"Weasley and I were on rounds and I must have startled her because she whipped around and sent a curse at me. As soon as I saw the wand I reacted and put up a shield, but it seems one of the bat-bogeys hit her arm. There was already a gash there, I'm not sure what it was from though," he said, congratulating himself on the cover story he had thought up on the trip to the hospital wing.

"Oh yes, the poor dear. I will never understand why she insists on patrolling that area. She comes in for calming draughts fairly often, but refuses to switch with anyone." Madam Pomfrey said while examining the highly colored area on Ginny's arm. Draco was trying to remember exactly where Weasley usually patrolled. As head boy, he was in charge of outlining patrol duties, but usually he let Granger handle the Gryffindors. The idea that something could frighten the girl so much she needed calming draughts was a bit off-putting. She always seemed ready for anything. Even after the scene in the bathroom tonight she had been ready with a curse and an escape route.

"Perhaps I had better step in and change her route then," he said, still unable to think of the Gryffindor schedule.

"That would be wise, though I do not know why you and Miss Granger allowed it in the first place," she said without even glancing up at him. She was too intent on waving her wand over the half healed cut on Ginny's arm.

"I assumed if there was an issue Granger would have made it known and we could have shifted patrols around, but nothing was brought to my attention by her or Miss Weasley," he said stiffly. He looked down at the slight girl in the hospital bed and wondered a bit more about her. After a quiet moment or two, he noticed a slight flickering of her eyelids. Silently, he hoped she would not say a word before the cover story could be revealed to her or they could both be in hot water.

It was a few minutes before Ginny fully regained consciousness and at first it was all white noise and bright blotches on her vision. Once all was clear, she could tell she was in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was looking at her with that look she knew so well and Malfoy was beside the bed looking almost, concerned. But that could not be right, Malfoys did not feel concern for people, let alone freckled red heads with too little money.

"Miss Weasley, how are you feeling?" the matron asked her patient.

"A bit dizzy, but better than before," Ginny answered, "What made me pass out?"

"The venom in the bite on your arm became toxic when it interacted with the bat-bogey that was reflected off of Mr. Malfoy's shield charm. In the future, please do take a calming draught before patrolling near Moaning Myrtle's bathroom or switch to entirely different floor," she replied.

"Of course," Ginny said meekly. Inside though, she was seething. It had taken a lot of convincing to make Hermione give her that corridor to begin with and she had not needed a calming draught at the end of patrol in almost two months. Now, whatever paltry excuse Malfoy had given was going to get her thrown into a different patrol route. She had picked hers specifically to face down whatever fears she had left and purge them from her system.

"Now your arm is healed, but the discoloration that occurred from the venom will last a bit longer," Madam Pomfrey said. Ginny looked down at her arm for the first time and saw livid purple and green bruising covering every available inch of skin from her elbow to her fingertips. With a hefty sigh, she asked about a way to cover it.

"With your robes on, it should not be much of a problem," Madam Pomfrey said.

"But outside of classes I don't wear my robes and everyone is going to badger me," Ginny said, having no desire to discuss Malfoy any more than necessary.

"A glamour charm should take care of it," the matron said before casting the illusion.

"May I go back to my dorm now?" Ginny asked.

"Of course, but Mr. Malfoy will be escorting you back to Gryffindor Tower just as a precaution," she said. Ginny grimaced at this news, but reckoned she could lose him down a secret passageway.

Draco kept his facial expression neutral upon hearing the newest development. The girl intrigued him and he was looking forward to a bit of time alone with her. The pair thanked the older woman before making their way out of the hospital wing. Ginny kept as much distance between them as she could which was difficult because Malfoy was walking as close as possible to her, often brushing against her arm and side. Finally, she saw her opportunity and ducked behind a tapestry and into the corridor beyond it while Malfoy was distracted by a noise down another section of hallway. She made it a few yards before she heard the rustle of the tapestry and sighed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Malfoy said, his words echoing down the corridor to her.

"Away from you!" Ginny said exasperatedly. This boy was thicker than a flobberworm.

"Now why would you want to do that?" Draco asked. He had caught up to her still moving form and grabbed her wrist to make her stop.

"Because I do not like you or enjoy being near you, especially after this awful night," she said slowly, as though to a child.

"I thought we were having fun earlier." Ginny roll her eyes in response to his insanity.

"You are a pig and I thought the bathroom was empty; it is not a mistake I will make in the future," she said, trying to wrench her wrist from his grasp. Her arm was still sore though and she could not quite move it with enough force.

"What if I show you how much fun you could have with me, say this Saturday in Hogsmeade?" he asked with his ever present smirk.

"No! Why on earth would I do that?" she asked, baffled by his actions.

"Possibly because if I tell the professors that I found you out of bed after curfew and you in turn cursed me, you could kiss quidditch goodbye and embrace a slew of detentions," he said with a shrug.

"That's blackmail and you have absolutely no proof," she said with no small amount of ire.

"Oh I wouldn't say that. I'm sure between Pomfrey and your bumbling portrait the fact you were out after curfew would be evident," he said. He began brushing her trapped wrist with one finger and anticipated the jerk she gave in response.

"Clearly you told Madam Pomfrey we were on rounds, so it would not matter if I was out after curfew at all," Ginny replied, giving another yank to her hand.

"Ahh, but you and I have never patrolled together as far as the schedule shows. Everyone knows that Granger handles the routes for Gryffindors and Ravenclaws," he said.

"Why would you even want to go with me? The whole idea of it is ludicrous," she said, trying to keep her voice level low rather than be caught by Filch.

"What can I say? When I see something I like, I just have to have it," he said with a smirk.

"You have a lot to learn about wooing people, Malfoy. Blackmail is not the way to a girl's heart," she snapped. He had a lot of nerve to attempt this nonsense.

"Slytherins use any means necessary, which includes blackmailing attractive girls who take off their clothes without warning," he said. He had maneuvered Ginny so that her back was against the wall and when he leaned in closer she had nowhere to go. Instead, she attempted to slap him with her free hand, only to have it join the first in his.

"Now, Miss Weasley, is that the proper way to have a discussion?" he asked. Ginny was seething and Draco was still smirking.

"This is not a discussion, this is you blackmailing me and holding me against my will! You've got it stuck in your twisted little brain of yours that you have an interest in me and you don't even know my first name," she said. Perhaps he would respond to a more logical line of argument. Then again, at this point in the week, Ginny should have learned to just accept her fate because nothing would be going her way at all.

Draco leaned in to whisper in her ear, "I know lots of things about you, Ginevra, including that little birthmark on your ribcage." He then proceeded to kiss his way from her ear down the column of her throat. At first, she wriggled and tried to get away, but the effects of the venom were still making her a bit dizzy and she stopped moving about in order to regain her balance. Once she was still, Ginny felt herself leaning into him. She tilted her head back to give him better access without thinking about her actions.

"What do you say, Saturday?" He asked without moving away from her. The pause was enough time for Ginny to come to her senses and realize what she was being an idiot. He did not want to go out with her for any reason other than he liked the way she looked in her undergarments. He had been pressed against her legs earlier, trapping them from movement as surely as her hands but had shifted during his ministrations. Ginny steeled herself for a moment before putting all the force she had into lifting her knee into his body instead of answering him. Draco's grip on her hands lessened and she was able to push him away before fleeing to Gryffindor tower.


End file.
